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Are they both available?

Bale's future depends a lot on what happens between now and the end of the season. Griezmann's depature seems to have been all but decided regardless. He agreed to have his buy-out clause bumped up to £200million last summer as a favour to Atletico who had been hit by a FIFA player-registration ban.

But he insisted on it being slashed back down to a very accessible £92m next summer. He feels the time has come for a new challenge. Bale is still happy in Madrid. But if his injury problems continue then the club will sign replacements and they will make life uncomfortable for him if he stays.

United manager Jose Mourinho would be getting a world class player whoever he went for

It's unlikely. Real Madrid wanted Sergio Aguero in 2011 but he went to Manchester City instead. It's not that deals between the two clubs never happen – Real Madrid bought defender Theo Hernandez from Atletico in the summer – but it's a stretch to believe Atletico will sell their best player to their city rivals.

Griezmann in action during the recent derby between Atletico and Real, which ended 0-0

But is Griezmann still their best player?

Form is temporary, class is permanent. Griezmann may have only scored twice in his last ten games but he remains a very complete forward: skillful, quick, deceptively good in the air, intelligent and capable of making and scoring big goals.

He only touched the ball 16 times in the Madrid derby and had no shots on target before being taken off on 76 minutes but that perhaps says more about the way Atletico are playing right now than how he is performing.

Some Atletico commentators are suggesting he be sold in January. That would be madness – alongside Diego Costa he will rediscover his best form.

Many commentators expect Griezmann to rediscover his form once alongside Diego Costa

So is he a better better bet for United than Bale?

A fully fit Gareth Bale probably trails only Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar but the problem for any buying club is how often he can be relied upon to maintain that optimum level of fitness.

His critics at Real Madrid have not admitted it but they will have seen over recent weeks how important he is to the team. Many have argued that Bale's power play stops Madrid's passing game. That's been laid bare as a nonsense in recent matches as Madrid have played very little football while losing to Girona and drawing with Atletico Madrid.

Bale makes a huge positive difference to the way they play and he would have even more influence at United where Mourinho's preference for counter-attacking football in big games would suit Bale's strengths. But he has missed 74 games since he joined Real Madrid.

Both Bale and Griezmann would have a big influence on United and help them improve

Will that be enough to ultimately put United off?

The question is can they change the pattern of his injuries? Is Bale just destined to always be plagued by tears and pulls or are there things that Madrid have not tried. They don't have the greatest record when it comes to minimalizing injuries.

Their own players have complained about the club's doctors over the years. Would an extensive study of every last detail about Bale's life perhaps change the number of games he is able to play.

Have Madrid studied what he eats, where he sits, how he sits, what he does in his spare time, the weights work he does, how he recovers? Arjen Robben was written of as the 'glass man' when he was at the Bernabeu. He moved to Bayern and transformed himself physically.

Bale has had a difficult time with injuries but that could change if he was managed differently

So to the £100m question: will United go for Bale or Griezmann?

Diego Simeone keeps hanging Griezmann out to dry, taking him off in big games. The divorce papers have been filed and the Frenchman will almost definitely go somewhere in 2018. Barcelona are keen and the player shares an agent with Barça coach Ernesto Valverde.

But Atletico would rather he left Spain and his France team-mate Paul Pogba will be waiting with open arms at Old Trafford. Griezmann's United-supporting brother will be doing cartwheels all pre-season if it happens. Bale's situation seems much harder to call. He should be back in action at the weekend and will feature in the World Club Cup and the December Clasico.

If he comes back strongly and has a good December he will soon be enjoying life in Spain again. But if the season continues to be an odyssey of injury set-backs then he will start to plot an escape route. Jose Mourinho has his number... that much we do know.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone has been critical of Griezmann's form in recent weeks